Self Development – Quiet Moments

Self Development in Quiet Moments

Originally published June 2011 Copyright Kam Tunningley

When we are focused on our Self Development, the quiet moments are always the best, those moments when all you can hear is the sound of your own breath, gentle birdsong and the gentle hum of insects. If the sun is shining, the light adds a glorious element, but likely as not, it will be overcast and the greens will shine deeper, and I can drink it in. My studio space is at the bottom of my garden, where there is a little secret garden hiding behind a jasmine covered trellis and through a pretty, wrought iron, arched gateway, just outside my special space.

I often sit quietly before I begin my day whether in or out of the studio space, but not before saying hello to and acknowledging all the beautiful life that lives with me here in my tiny secret garden, wild and overgrown as it is right now. I haven’t been able to work out there for a while, and while it’s frustrating to have weakness in my body, it also reminds me through its reflection, that there is much abundance in my life and therefore much to be grateful for.

Reflections

Reflections of my abundance and growth are everywhere here. The tiny pink geranium that was planted several years ago now, overflows from its original home, flowing out and across the earth and into the gravel, like foamy sea water at incoming high-tide. What was one plant has grown and flourished to the size of thirty. The butterfly bush, coming into bud, towers over the pond, tall and strong, bending to the light, while the long, stately Iris leaves wave gracefully on the breeze, barely disturbing the deep-green, pondweed and the residents below. In the corner, jostling for space, tight, silver buds of anemone flowers on tall branching stems, seem to be springing-up everywhere around; the promise of much happiness for foraging bees! It’s as though the bushes are alive and singing, humming at least, once the flowers are open. It never fails to make me smile ..

I breathe in the greenness and the fresh air and give thanks, for my garden, for my abundance and for a life that allows me time to be here in this place. The past several months have been a great healing time for me, and I wonder as I look at the wildness, if I ought to prune and pull up, in the same way I’ve examined my own Self, and pruned, pulled up and let go of all those things that no longer serve me for my greater good. Maybe I will. But part of me likes it wild, and that’s the part that resists the change, that wants to continue with the old ways of being, even though I’ve outgrown them and they hold me back. The other part of me knows that if it is indeed a true reflection, then it surely needs to be tamed, to still retain that element of wildness and freedom, which is an essential part of my character, but also allow space for new things to grow. I need to let the sunlight into the shadows to allow new growth in new places and create a stronger, more vibrant garden just like the stronger, more vibrant me.

My question for you

My question for you is this, if you take a look at your life, your immediate surroundings, what does it tell you about yourself?